Hobby horse



Nov. 26, 1957 B. H. CONNET, SR

HOBBY HORSE Filed May '1, 1956 INVENTOR. E NNET H. LllNl/ET ATTORNEY United States Patent HOBBY HORSE Bennet H. Connet, Sn, Wichita, Kans., assignor to Alfred Connet and E. R. Hopper, Boise, Idaho specific aspect this invention relates to new hobby horse structure of the oscillating kind, particularly new, operat ing means structure and base structure.

Hobby horse structure has long been known in the art, both the type mounted by spring means on. a supporting frame which operates without any set pattern of movement, and the type which oscillates back and forth as the child rider shifts his weightback and forth. The new hobby horse of my invention is a distinct improvement on those of the latter type. Those of the prior art, because of their structure, require excessive spring means to operate same, and their structure is very complicated and expensive to make. In addition they are not, very stable, requiring a wide spread base. And, in use they are rather dangerous because if the base is tilted because of a corner or side thereof being on a book, orthe like, on the floor, which is a common occurrence, the horse proper becomes tilted, making it likely that the child rider will be thrown therefrom and injured. The new hobby horse structure of my invention overcomes these disadvantages of the horses of the prior art. The new base structure of my hobby horse in combination with the horse structure proper makes for a very safe horse, and the new hobby horse of my invention is particularly simple of structure, easy and economical to build and maintain.

The new hobby horse of my invention has a base member and a body member spaced therefrom. A front leg member is pivotally mounted in its end portions to the body and base. A rear leg member is spaced from the front leg member and it is also pivotally mounted in its end portions to the body and base. One of these leg members has a portion between its pivot points which projects toward the other leg member. A resilient means is attached to the outer portion of this projecting portion and to the other leg member between the points of pivot thereof. The horse body is adapted to oscillate back and forth with the resilient means being put in tension when the body is in a forward or rearward position to urge the body back to a neutral or center position. The new cooperating base structure of my invention in a preferred specific embodiment has a longitudinal member with two end members mounted transversely thereon. These members are preferably tubular and split the length thereof on the underneath side.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new hobby horse structure.

It is another object of my invention to provide new hobby horse structure the body of which oscillates, particularly such structure which has simple and efiicient operating means and which is simple and easy to build and maintain, and which because of its base and cooperating mounting structure is particularly stable and safe.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure.

Drawings accompany and are a part of this disclosure.

The drawings depict preferred specific embodiments of the hobby horse structure of my invention, and it is to be understood that such are not to unduly limit the scope of my invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view with the near side body member removed depicting a preferred specific embodiment of the new hobby horse structure of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, however, with the side body member which is not shown in Fig. l in place on Fig. 2. I t

Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Following is a discussion and description of the new hobby horse structure of my invention made with reference to the drawings whereon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same parts or structure. The discussion and description is of preferred specific embodiments of the new hobby horse structure of my invention, and it is to be understood that such is not to unduly limit the scope of my invention.

The hobby horse of my invention shown in the drawings is mounted on a base having a centrally positioned longitudinal member 6 and transverse end members 8 which are attached to the ends of member 6 in any suitable manner, such as by welding. End members 8 are bent downwardly in their end portions to provide leg portions 10 which contact the floor. It is preferred to use a rubber or plastic shoe 12 on the ends of the legs to protect floor surfaces when a child is riding the horse. Members 6 and 8 are preferably tubular members which have been split the length thereof on the underneath side. This provides for a stable base and one which is very safe, allowing for mounting the horse on a single; central member 6, thus eliminating outer side members and wide spread feet of the horse, and providing a base which will easily twist to remain stable even though one foot thereof is on a book, chair rocker, and the like.

The horse proper has two front legs 14 which are pivotally mounted in their lower end portions on member 6, and held thereon by nut and bolt means 16. Likewise, the two rear legs 18 are pivotally mounted in their lower end portions on member 6 by nut and bolt means 20. The body member of the hobby horse has an upper seat member 22, on which the rider sits, and two side members 24 attached thereto in any suitable manner, such as by nailing or with screws. I prefer to make my horse out of Wood. However, metal or plastic materials can be used, if desired. A block member 26 is mounted between the upper end portions of the legs 14 and 18, and these legs are pivotally mounted on the body between side members 24 by nut and bolt means 28 passing therethrough at point 30 in the front legs and at point 32 in the rear legs. The legs 14 and 18 move in unison as the body members move back and forth. A head and neck member 34 is suitably mounted on the front of seat member 22, such having a rod 36 therethrough to provide hand holds, and a rear saddle member 38 is preferably mounted on the back of seat member 22 to provide a safe seat.

A spiral spring 43 is mounted between the projecting portions 40 and 42 of legs 14 and 18, respectively, such portions projecting toward each other between points of pivot 16 and 30, and 20 and 32, respectively. This mounting is preferably accomplished by eye members 44 threadedly or otherwise mounted in members 26 with the end hook portions 45 of spring 43 mounted therein. This spring 43 acts in tension and when the horse is rocked back-ward (dotted lines of Fig. 1), the spring is stretched and put further in tension to exert force to bring the horse back to center or rest position (solid lines of Fig. 1). Likewise, when the horse is rocked forward, spring 43 is placed in tension to exert force to return the horse to center or at rest position. My operating structure and means is simple, yet it is very advantageous, and a minimum of springmeans can be ,used to operate the horse because of the great leverage resulting from my structure of mounting the resilient force exerting means between the points of pivot of the leg members.

The hobby horse is operated by a child sitting on seat 22. The feet of the child are placed on the foot holds, which can conveniently be provided by a rod 50 mounted in corresponding holes in the front legs 14. The child holds on to the hand holds provided by rod 36. Upon the child shifting his weight and pushing and pulling with his legs and arms, the body of the horse will oscillate back and forth in operation, being pulled to rest position by spring 43 and beyond by the weight of the child and the movement of the child. The horse structure has been successfully built for children from 16 months to 6 years of age,,with no difiiculty encountered in operation. And, the horse and base structure can withstand violent riding without danger to the child rider.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, various modifications of this invention can be made, or followed, in the light of this disclosure and discussion, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure or from the scope of the claim.

I claim:

A hobby horse, comprising, in combination, a base having a centrally positioned longitudinal member, each end of said longitudinal member having a transverse member attached thereto in the central portion of said transverse members, said transverse members having feet on the ends thereof on which said base rests, said feet being relatively widely spaced from said longitudinal member, said base members being narrow and elongated and the relative dimensions of said base members being such that the base is readily deformable in use to maintain three of said feet on one level when the other foot is on a higher level, a pair of substantially straight closely 4 spaced front leg members and a pair of substantially straight closely spaced rear leg members, each of said pairs of leg members pivotaly mounted at the lower end portions on said longitudinal base member closely adjacent thereto with said pair spaced on said longitudinal member, a narrow and elongated upper body member constructed so that a child can sit thereon, each pair of leg members pivotally mounted at the upper end portions on said body member centrally between the sides thereof with said pairs of leg members spaced on said body, each of said pairs of leg members having an attachment member in the upper end portions below the point of pivot on said body and between said sides, said attachment members projecting inwardly toward each other, a helical spring mounted at its end portions between said pairs of leg members on the outer portions of said attachment members, a head member having hand-holds mounted forwardly on said body member, and foot rest members mounted on the front leg members between the points of pivot thereof, said helical spring being put in tension when said body member is in forward or rearward position to urge said body member back to a neutral or center position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 506,495 Hart Oct. 10, 1893 542,850 Garben July 16, 1895 820,111 Hermann May 6, 1906 1,756,389 Schneider Apr. 29, 1930 1,887,894 Schwab Nov. 15, 1932 2,302,239 McKinney Nov. 17, 1942 2,551,632 Pichler May 8, 1951 2,668,579 Swengel Feb. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 94,035 Switzerland Apr. 1, 1922 71,236 Sweden Feb. 24, 1931 

